The Gun Fighter
by gunman
Summary: Masataka leaves Toudou Academy and ends up in Roanapur, where he meets up with his cousin Rock and joins the Lagoon Traders in their adventures. Masataka/Shenhua.
1. Chapter 1

_**THE GUN FIGHTER**_

by Gunman

Disclaimer: I do not own Tenjho Tenge or Black Lagoon

Summary: Masataka leaves Toudou Academy and ends up in Roanapur, where he meets up with his cousin Rock and joins the Lagoon Traders in their adventures.

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Chapter 1

**First Impressions**

The young looking Japanese man stepped off the boat as it pulled into the docks of Roanapur, Thailand. The instant he did, several of the locals started sizing him up as an easy payday. He started walking into the city, followed quickly by the locals. It wasn't long until he realized he was being followed.

"Can I help you?" the young man asked the group.

"Yeah. Give us your money." the thug asked as his four friends just surrounded him.

He sighed as he looked at them. "I don't have that much." he said.

"But you do have some. So give it up." the lead thug grinned.

"No."

That single word caused the five thugs to lung at the boy, looking to overwhelm him with force, as their leader pulled a knife as well.

It took less than a minute for all five thugs to be laid out onto the ground.

_Great! First five minutes in town and people are already trying to beat me up._ Masataka Takayanagi thought as he sighed and went on his way. _It's like I'm back at Toudou._

He didn't bother searching them, since they were trying to mug him it meant that they wanted money which meant they didn't have it.

_Wonder where I can go from here? Or... should I stay? _He thought as he looked around at the clean and dirty city.

He sighed at that oxymoron, realizing that even though the city had a plain look, there was something somewhat dark about it. If those thugs were examples of the locals. It wasn't something that you could see, but looks often deceive someone who hadn't seen the dark underside that life had to offer. He had left the city of Tokyo and Toudou Academy to get away from the violence that had come to define everything in the lives of the students there. He had come here to get away from all that. However, if he was going to travel more, he'd need money.

_Guess I need to get a job. Probably soon_. He thought. He sniffed the air, and grimaced. _Probably going to need a shower too_. He thought, realizing that spending a month on a dirty barge had made him rather dirty. He smelled like a variety of things, none of which were helpful, but only if you were close. _Maybe if I don't get too close to anyone_. He thought.

He then saw a sign: Yellow Flag Bar. Help Wanted.

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Inside the bar, four people were sitting around and talking.

"I'm still not sure this is a good idea." an American man in glasses and a Hawaiian shirt groaned as he set down his drink.

"I agree with that! We should just drop the job and get another one." a surly-looking woman in cutoff shorts and a tank top snarled.

"We can't, Revy!" a mild-looking salaryman in a button-up shirt and clean slacks said. "Balalaika specifically wanted us for this job. The pay is twice what we'd normally get, and they're even willing to triple it if... you..."

"If I what, Rock? Behave myself?" Revy snapped at the salaryman.

"That's the general idea." he said.

"Especially since the group we're going to meet are members of the Ghernhart Gang. Several of who you've killed." a tall, bald, dark-skinned man said as he set down his beer.

"Hey! They tried to kill me first!" the woman snapped again.

"Was that before or after they tried to _molest_ you?"

Revy glared at the dark man. "You say that like you don't believe me, Dutch!"

"Given the Ghernhart's reputation, I believe you. But your version of what happened in that bar is kinda one-sided." Dutch stated.

"That's because she killed everyone in their group." the glasses-wearing man said.

"Some asshole feels me up and you expect me not to do anything, Benny?" she snapped again.

"Of course not! But you could have given him a warning shot before killing him, instead of just killing him." Dutch sighed. "At any rate, I've already told Balalaika that we'd take the job. So Revy has to stay here."

"Oh come on! This is BullS#!! and you know it!" Revy snapped.

"Of course I know it! But these are the terms that Balalaika has set for us to handle the exchange." Dutch explained.

"That means you're gonna trust Rock and Benny to handle guns?" she asked.

Dutch looked at the two men and grimaced, remembering the time Rock tossed his gun over the side of the Black Lagoon when he first gave it to him. As for Benny, he'd never used a gun in his life. He knew the mechanics, but had no real experience using one. He'd probably be more dangerous than the group they'd have to face.

"So... what? We need some extra muscle?" Benny asked.

"I _am_ the muscle of this group!" Revy snapped. "Not like a good replacement is going to walk into the bar any time soon!"

Just then, the door to the bar opened up and Masataka walked in.

"Huh?" Rock gasped when he saw the boy.

"Something wrong, Rock?" Dutch asked.

"That boy." Rock said, pointing to the young man.

"Oh, finally taking interest in someone I see." Revy teased.

"It's not that!" he shot back defensively.

Revy eyed the young man in the street clothes, a backpack over his shoulder. He looked young. High school young. Even from their distance, Revy could tell that the kid could handle himself. He walked over to the bar and started talking to Bao about the Help Wanted sign outside.

"Do you have any experience bartending?" Bao asked.

"No." Masataka said.

"Do you know how to mix drinks?"

"Not really."

"Are you any good at taking orders from people?"

"Somewhat."

"Okay... do you have any combat training?"

"Huh? Why do you ask?" he asked, somewhat confused by that question.

"Let's just say that, this bar tends to get a little rough at times. It's been rebuilt more times than I care to remember, from various fights that have broken out here." he said with a heavy sigh. "These fights have run off most of my employee's, so I need someone who's... capable, unflappable, who doesn't get scared easily. Can you do that?"

Before Masataka could answer, five men with knives and clubs burst into the bar and marched over to the boy.

"YOU!" the lead thug shouted.

"Oh boy." Masataka groaned.

"No one kicks the shit out of us and gets away with it!"

"You tried to mug me, at knife point. What would you have me do? Let you rob and stab me?"

"Oh we're not going to give you the option now!"

The first thug lunged at him, only to have Masataka leap up onto the bar, balancing himself on his hands and dodging at the same time. He spun around to where he was facing the man, letting his foot fly and kicking him in the face, sending him down.

The next two thugs attacked, lunging at the bar, only to have Masataka flip off of the bar, over the two men, spin in mid-air, and kick both of them hard in their faces. This stunned the men before he dropped onto the floor to kick their legs out from under them.

The next two thugs attacked him straight away, only to have Masataka side-step and effortlessly push the first one into the second. The move had seen simple enough, but the thugs were knocked down, the first one hitting his head against the bar. The second thug scrambled to his feet and attacked. But the second he got up, Masataka punched him hard in the face, dropping him on top of his buddy.

The fight done, everyone in the bar stared at the young man in shock. Mostly Bao, since another fight had broken out and his bar hadn't been destroyed.

"Sorry about the mess." Masataka said to the man.

"Hey, you didn't start this fight, kid." Bao said, looking over the bar. "I'm used to this. Sides, you caused less damage than a lot of other people who come in here. So... when can you start?"

Before Masataka could answer, he was tapped on his shoulder from behind.

"Huh?" he gasped as he turned around quickly.

"Masataka?" Rock asked.

"Rokuro?" Masataka gasped when he saw the man.

"I thought that was you." he smiled as the pair hugged each other.

While this was going on, the Lagoon Traders came over to them.

"Rock, do you two know each other?" Benny asked.

"Rock?" Masataka asked the salaryman.

"Long story." Rock said. "This is my cousin, Masataka Takayanagi, from Tokyo."

"And here we thought he was your boyfriend." Revy teased.

Masataka looks at Rock. "Do I come off as gay?"

"Relax. She's just like that."

"I'm Dutch." the tall, African-American vet introduced.

"I'm Benny." the glasses-wearing American said.

"Revy." the Chinese-America gunfighter said.

"Who's this? Your girlfriend?" Masataka asked

"Why does everyone say that?" Rock groaned.

"Because you're one of the few people Revy doesn't curse out." Dutch said.

"So what brings you here to Roanapur?" Rock asked.

"Long story." Masataka said.

"Look forward to hearing it."

"Yours too."

While the pair talked, Revy looked over the young Japanese man. He was just a little younger than Rock, but seemed far more powerful than the salary man. If his fight with the local thugs were any indication. But he didn't present himself as a fighter or a thug. Anyone who looked at him would think he was just a normal kid, not a martial arts expert.

"I just got into town tonight." Masataka said.

"Do you have a place to stay?" Rock asked.

"No, I don't."

"Alright. You can crash with us."

Dutch would have spoke up about this, but stopped himself. He almost thought he could see Rock's plan, and so let it go for now.

"Do you have a shower?" Masataka asked.

"Of course." Rock answered.

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At the Lagoon Traders office, Masataka dried himself off as he stepped out of the shower. It felt nice to get most of that gunk and sweat off of him. As he dried himself off he mentally took stock of the group he had unintentionally fallen in with.

Rock hadn't changed that much from when he saw him last, which was about a year or two ago. He still dressed rather simply, white button up shirt, tie, black slacks, brown shoes. From what he heard, he was the groups lawyer, negotiator, accountant and secretary.

Dutch appeared to be the oldest member of the Lagoon Traders, their apparent leader and a former Vietnam vet. He dressed himself in military fatigues, thick boots, cargo pants, black shirt, greenish vest, and sunglasses. He was a tall, muscular man, bald head, dark skin, and always seemed to be wearing sunglasses. He seemed more quite than the others, giving off the impression that he was just as jaded as most people.

Benny was the groups computer hacker/mechanic. He was dressed in a bright Hawaiian shirt, tan slacks, shoes, and glasses over his eyes. His blond hair tied back in a ponytail, about average height and American, like Dutch.

Revy was apparently the team's muscle, at least that's how he appeared to her. She was dressed in a dark green tanktop, a pair of cutoff shorts, thick black boots, fingerless black gloves, gun holsters with two sidearms tucked under her arms, a tribal tattoo on her right shoulder and her long hair tied up into a ponytail. She was Chinese-America he figured. Attractive, but vicious. A real femme fatale.

She'd have fit in extremely well at Toudou.

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While Masataka changed into his clothes that Rock had gotten him, the Lagoon Traders were sitting around the office, talking.

"Alright, we got the timetable." Dutch said as he hung up the phone.

"For the job, right?" Rock asked.

"No, for the TV Guide." Dutch quipped.

"Ha, ha." he laughed.

"So... when and where?" Benny asked.

"About twenty miles off the coast, near international waters." Dutch said, tapping his pen on the part of the paper where the coordinates were written.

"Time?" Rock asked.

"Noon tomorrow. Exactly." Dutch said.

"I don't like it." the salaryman stated.

"I don't either. Especially since Revy can't come."

"Oh? And why is that?" Masataka asked as he stepped into the room, dressed in a pair of sweat pants and gray t-shirt.

"Because the people we're going out to meet are the Ghernhart Gang, people whom Revy has... a bad history with." Dutch explained.

"Bad history. You mean..."

"She's killed several of them." Rock said.

"Ah. I see."

"I take it from your questioning of the situation that you agree to help us out?" Rock asked his cousin.

Masataka looked at Rock and nodded. "I can use the money." he said, making it seem as if that was his only reason.

However, the group wasn't fooled by that statement. The others may not have known him like Rock did, but they could tell that he wasn't a good liar. Masataka had quickly come to realize that Rock's life was now shadier than it had been before, but after hearing how his own boss had screwed him over, Masataka realized that he was simply doing what he had to do in order to stay alive. His own experiences in Tokyo alongside the Juken Club had shown him that dark side to life.

"If you're going to take my place, we need to get you some better clothes." Revy said, appearing behind the young man.

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Masataka emerged from the room, dressed in a pair of white tennis shoes, blue jeans, and a black shirt. All in all he looked rather... ordinary.

"Kinda ordinary, you know." Benny said as he stared at the man.

"Unless you're attempting to stand out, dressing down like this is better. Nondescript, like blending into the background." Revy said as she thrust a blue ballcap and a pair of sunglasses into his hands.

"Less is more?" the computer hacker asked.

"Exactly." the female gunfighter said.

_So that explains your outfit_. Rock thought.

"What!" Revy snapped at the salaryman.

"What?" Rock repeated in shock to the woman.

"What were you thinking?" she asked.

"I wasn't thinking." he replied.

"Yes you were. I can see the wheels in your head turning." she snapped, sticking her finger in his face.

"Now, wait! That's not fair to assume that just because I roll my eyes when you start talking like a fashion designer that I'm actually thinking something rude or crass." Rock stated.

"So you admit it!"

Masataka looked at Benny. "Are they always like this?" he asked the hacker.

"Actually... this is them being nice." Benny said with a smile.

Masataka looked down at his outfit as he put his ballcap and sunglasses on. While he could have kept his school uniform, for some reason he felt it was unnecessary. There might have been some people in Roanapur who preferred to stand out, which included how they dressed. Masataka wasn't such a person. He didn't go in for looks. He wasn't one for attention. Which was actually a good thing in a place where people's livelihood's were dependant upon secrecy and noninterference.

If anything, it was something that the criminal cartels and government agencies had in common.

Also, Masataka was new to the city. For now it was best to just lay low until he was at least secure in his position.

"So, we ready to go?" Dutch asked as he came into the room to find Rock and Revy fighting.

"Yeah." Benny said, then looked at the happy couple. "If you can peel them away from each other."

Eventually the group boarded the Black Lagoon, plus their cargo, and headed out to open water. While Dutch piloted the old PT-Boat to their destination, Revy, who had insisted on coming, talked with Masataka.

"So, you guys are cousins?" Revy asked the young martial artist.

"Yes. Second cousins, once removed." Masataka said.

"That's by marriage, right?"

"I think so, but family is family."

"Nice to have, I guess."

"You never had one?"

"Not that I ever remember."

"Guess that's something we have in common."

Revy just looked at him.

"You?"

"My brother doesn't really care about me, and the rest of my family is rather... oblivious to me."

"Huh. Sounds like Rock's family."

"Really?"

"He never talks about them, but I get the impression he doesn't get along with them either." she said, then turned to the young man. "With the exception of you, of course."

"Thanks."

Within a few minutes, the group was slowly coming upon the rendevous point.

"Revy, we're coming up upon the meeting sight. Stay below until this deal is done." Dutch said to the woman.

"This is still ridiculous!" Revy snapped.

"Hey, you're not even supposed to be here. So don't complain. If all goes well we'll simply do the deal and leave."

"Grrrr. Fine!" the woman growled as she started to go down into the lower decks. "But if they start shooting, I'm coming out."

"They really don't like her, do they?" Masataka asked as the woman disappeared down below.

"She's killed more than a few of them on more than one occasion." Benny said.

"Right. I got that much." the martial artist said.

Benny stayed in the cabin while Dutch, Rock and Masataka pulled up alongside the large yacht, easily twice the side of their boat.

"So... do we agree with the price?" the lead member of the Ghernhart Gang asked as his man opened the silver briefcase to reveal more than a hundred bricks of money.

"Do you agree with the cargo?" Dutch asked as Masataka opened one of the crates to reveal the merchandise inside.

"Yes. We do." he said. He then looked around the boat and saw nothing. "Didn't bring Two Hands with you, I see."

"That was part of the deal, wasn't it?" Dutch asked.

"Of course. But it also makes it easier," he started to say, as he and his men pulled out their guns. "To keep our money and the cargo, and hurt Two Hands by killing her people!"

"Why you son of a..." Dutch hissed at the man.

"She killed nearly a dozen of our men! You don't think that we'd take the opportunity to get even with that bitch for that?" he said to Dutch. "Kill them!" he shouted to his men.

"I don't think so." Masataka said, gripping the lid of the crate and hurling it at the armed men on the upper tier.

The wooden lid flew like a frisbee, slamming into several of the gunmen and knocking them down as Masataka leaped into action. The other men tried to shoot him as he leapt from the Black Lagoon onto their yacht, kicking two men down before barreling through the others, including their leader.

While the Ghernhart Gang's attention was diverted to the young martial artist who was wading through their men, Dutch and Rock were securing the cargo. At the same time, Benny was trying to keep Revy below the decks.

"What's going on?" Revy asked, her guns in her hands itching for a fight the second the men started shooting.

"Rock's cousin is kicking ass." Benny said to the woman.

Revy looked out of the window as Masataka was now on the upper tier of the yacht, kicking a thug off the boat and into the water. Three more men tried to overwhelm him, only to have him quickly punch and kick them, sending them flying into the air. He leaped down onto the lower tier and threw a roundhouse kick that took down two more men.

"Huh. He's really good." Revy admitted as she reholstered her guns.

"I'd say as good with his fists and feet as you are with a gun." Benny said as he watched the fight alongside Revy.

The last two men pulled their guns and started shooting at Masataka as he charged towards them, only to have the young fighter slide effortlessly between the bullets, moving with uncanny quickness until he was up-close and personal with them, sharply uppercutting one of them and chopping the second in the throat to drop him down.

The fighting was over and all the members of the Ghernhart Gang were unconscious.

"Alright! Nice work, Taka." Dutch said to the young fighter.

"Yeah. Now let's get their money and sink this fucker!" Revy said with a sadistic smirk.

"Sink it? You mean the boat?" Masataka asked.

"Yeah!" Revy said with a playful/sarcastic tone. "What else did you want to do with it? Keep it?"

Masataka looked at the boat and at the defeated men. If they sunk the yacht then these men would drown. While they may have been double-crossing thugs, and had tried to kill him, he had no intention of simply killing them.

"What are you thinking, Masataka?" Rock asked his cousin.

"Something... profitable." he said.

Within a few minutes, Masataka had loaded all the unconscious Ghernhart Gang members into the yacht's rubber raft and set it adrift, minus the groups guns, ID's, knives, even their cigarette's.

Dutch piloted the Black Lagoon back to Roanapur with Benny and Masataka piloting the yacht behind him.

"Just how much do you know about your cousin's fighting style?" Revy asked Rock once the two boats were underway.

"It's called Xinyi Liuhe, the Henan Branch of Xingyiquan. He's basically an anti-weapons specialist. Though I've never actually seen him fight before." Rock said.

"You've never seen him fight?" Dutch asked.

"No."

"Then how do you know so much about him?" Revy asked.

"He's my cousin. We talk."

"Oh. Right."

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Once the group had returned to Roanapur, they went directly to the Bougainvillea Trading Company to talk to Balalaika of Hotel Moscow.

"So... how was your trip?" Balalaika asked as the group sat down in Balalaika's office.

"Eventful." Dutch said.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Those bastards tried to double-cross us." Revy groaned as she poured herself a drink from the Russian woman's small bar.

"I see. The cargo?" the blond Russian woman asked.

"Right over there." Dutch said, pointing to the crates that Masataka had brought in for them and put in the corner of her office.

"And we got their money too." Benny said as Rock set the case down on the coffee table in the middle of the office, opening it up to reveal the money.

Balalaika smiled. "Excellent. So we lose nothing in this. You keep their money and Hotel Moscow keeps the merchandise, and the money we were going to pay you."

"Huh? Now wait a minute!" Revy snapped.

"Revy..." Rock said, trying to prevent a potential fight.

"No! Those bastards tried to double-cross us! Why should we get stiffed on the bill?"

"Because the money we took from them is the same price Balalaika was going to pay us." Rock answered.

"Oh. Really?" Revy asked in mild shock.

"Yeah, but those jerks won't be trying to do business with us any time soon." Benny said.

"Serves them right." Balalaika said with a shrug.

"So does that mean we can keep the boat too?" Revy asked.

"Boat? What boat?" the Russian asked.

"The yacht they were using for the meeting. After Masataka beat them all down he stuffed them into a rubber raft and set them adrift. Benny and him then piloted the yacht back to Roanapur. It's tied up at the docks next to the Black Lagoon." Dutch said.

"Hmm." the Russian woman used. "I'm impressed. I would have expected Two Hands to sink it."

"She would have, but Masataka thought it would be a waste of a good boat."

"We'll discuss who gets the boat later. Right now, Mr Chang wants to talk to you. Said it was pretty urgent."

"Chang?" Masataka asked the hacker.

"Leader of the Triads here in Roanapur." Benny said.

"Yes. He wants you to do a job for him." Balalaika said.

"What's the pay?" Dutch asked.

"100,000. American."

"Up-front, or all totaled?" Revy asked.

"Up front." she said. "And twice that once the job is complete."

"Cool." she said as she downed the cognac.

With the major business aside, Balalaika turned her attention to the young man who had come in with them.

"Who's the kid?" she asked.

"He's my cousin." Rock said.

"Really?" she asked. "What's his name?"

"Masataka Takayanagi."

"So he's the one who were talking about. But his name's too long. Does he go by anything shorter?"

"Taka." Dutch said, somewhat quickly.

"Alright then. Does he have any special skills?"

"He's a martial arts expert." Benny said.

"Really. Any good?"

The group looked at each other, as if trying to keep from laughing.

"Test him." Dutch said.

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Authors Notes:

Here's my first chapter of Masataka's adventures in Roanapur. I'm not sure how many chapters I'll be putting up in this, but after a couple reviews and private messages wanted me to do a crossover, I couldn't help by write this up. Also, I know that I'm basically putting him up as a parallel to Rock, Masataka being a decent guy and all, which will help to further balance out the group, who are all pretty much criminals and the like.

Also, I am uploading this chapter into the site on 8-8-08 because it's really a milestone time and such.

Also, in case anyone is wondering, the pairing for this will be Masataka and Shenhua.

Drop me a review to let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

_**THE GUN FIGHTER  
**_by Gunman

Disclaimer: I do not own Tenjho Tenge or Black Lagoon.

Summary: Masataka and Shenhua join forces to battle a gang of Yakuza in order to rescue a Triad bosses daughter. But as a result, they become attracted to each other.

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Chapter 2  
**Two To Tango**

Masataka blinked his eyes open and stared at the slowly spinning fan above him. He felt relaxed in the rather comfortable bed, sighing to himself as he felt a warm body press up against him. He turned his head to see a messy mane of greenish hair resting on his chest, a slender arm draped across his stomach.

His body became consciously aware of everything, namely the fact that he was naked as the woman was, they were both covered by a thin silk sheet, and one of her smooth legs was snaked around his in a gentle but firm grip.

He looked at her for a few seconds before remembering something.

_Shenhua. Her name is Shenhua_. He thought, glad at least that he remembered her name. His vision was a little blurry, and his mouth had a strong aftertaste of alcohol. _But what happened? How did we..._

His thoughts paused as he suddenly remembered exactly how he had ended up in this situation.

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(**FLASHBACK**)  
(Bougainvillea Trading Company)

"He's a martial arts expert." Benny said.

"Really. Any good?" Balalaika asked.

The group looked at each other, as if trying to keep from laughing.

"Test him." Dutch said.

Balalaika silently motioned for three of her men to move on the young man.

Rock only had a second to make the same motion towards his cousin, before all hell broke loose.

The three men, all highly skilled, fully trained soldiers who had been trained by Balalaika for years, lunged at the boy in an attempt to take him down.

Masataka ducked low, and rolled past them across the floor. The men spun around in order to get him again, only to have the young fighter spring up off his feet, into the air, and strike down all three of them with a flying roundhouse kick to their faces.

Two of the men, stunned for a second, recovered quickly and attacked again. Masataka grabbed the first man and flipped him behind him onto his back as the second man leapt at him, his feet actually leaving the floor. Masataka spun around and chopped the man into his neck, knocking him mid-air into the side wall. The first man got up off the floor and moved to punch the boy, only to have said boy block his punches, and then lash out with a fierce kick to his face, knocking him down.

The third man, who had recovered slower than the rest, pulled out a Bowie-like knife and lunged at the boy from behind.

However, Masataka sensed him and quickly spun around, shouting as he lashed out with his hand.

"URAATE!"(_Reverse Striking_) Masataka shouted, spinning around as his back hand, charged with energy, lashed out towards the man, cutting through the knife blade and nailing the man in the neck.

Balalaika just stared in shock as her men fell unconscious to the ground.

She turned to look at the Lagoon Couriers and raised an eyebrow.

"How the hell can you afford him?" she asked them.

"He's my cousin." Rock said.

_And here I thought Rock couldn't get any more useful._ She thought as she looked at her men. _And I guess I'll have to cut out the red meat for them. _

Of course, Balalaika had no way of knowing that Masataka had been using ki-enhanced punches and kicks to take the rather tough men down. Guys like Bob or Souichiro would have been able to hold their own against the men, and that's only because they got into alot of fights. Whether they had the discipline to win, was easy to debate.

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The group goes to see Bai Ji-Shin Chang of the Triads, more commonly referred to as Mr Chang, at his place of business.

Unlike Balalaika, Chang liked to operate his business out of a Chinese restaurant called the Floating Lotus.

While the group was having lunch, Masataka took notice of the sexy Taiwanese knife fighter who was standing just behind Mr Chang. She looked like either a bodyguard or assistant, but he got the feeling she was more than that.

Masataka stared at the woman. She was taller than Revy, with a curvaceously slender build and long legs. She was dressed in an ankle-length reddish-purple cheongsam, cut high over the thighs which had a pair of high leg-straps on them with small knives hooked to them. She wore a loose, long-sleeved white jacket, with gold trim, and red slippers on her feet. Her hair was long with a greenish tint to it, stretching down her back in a long ponytail, part of her hair draped over the right side of her face. Her features were rather sharp, her makeup perfectly applied over her slim, delicate-looking bone structure, her eyes were a dark green, and held an aura of fierceness in them.

Shenhua stared at the young man in return. He was taller than Rock, but seemed younger. He was dressed very simple: black t-shirt, blue jeans, black belt, white shoes, sunglasses clipping to the front of his shirt, and a ballcap covering his wavy brown hair. His arms were slim but quite ripped, revealing he had considerable strength. His features were young and unsullied, as if he had never been in a fight in his life. But his brown eyes, if one looked deep enough, held a warriors spirit. That told her he had been in more than his share of fights.

There was an unspoken message that passed between them, as if they were telepathically saying 'hello' to each other.

Rock seemed to be the only one to notice the pair's eyes locked on each other. He actually smiled at seeing that Masataka was interested in someone like Shenhua.

"So what's the job, sir?" Revy asked the Triad leader.

"It's a rescue mission." Mr Chang said.

Revy and the others looked at each other, naturally confused.

"A rescue mission?" Rock asked.

"Yes." Mr Chang said.

"You want us to rescue someone?" Dutch asked.

"Yes." Mr Chang said.

"_You_ want _us_ to?" Benny asked.

"Yes." Mr Chang said.

The group was still confused.

"Uh... what is the situation?" Rock asked.

"This." Mr Chang said as he pulled a picture of an adolescent girl out of his pocket and placed it on the table. "Several weeks ago, the daughter of a Triad boss from Hong Kong was kidnapped by a group of Yakuza agents. They are holding her for ransom here in Roanapur."

"And you have no intention of paying." Revy said while Rock looked at the picture.

"We _can_ pay. But we won't. Because of who is involved." Mr Chang said.

"What do you mean?" Rock asked.

"The leader of this group is one of my former lieutenants." Mr Chang said.

"What?" Dutch gasped.

"Former, as in..." Rock started to say.

"As in... I trained him." Chang said.

"You trained a Yakuza agent?" Benny asked.

"He wasn't Yakuza when I trained him." Chang replied.

"A Chinese agent leading a bunch of Yakuza?" Revy asked.

"Long story." Chang said.

"What's his name?" Rock asked.

"Genjo." he said.

"How good is he?" Revy asked.

"If he's kept up, he is in equal skill to you, Revy." Chang replied.

"I see." Revy said.

Masataka looked at the female gunfighter, and actually found her shaken.

He wondered why.

"The Hong Kong leader wants his daughter back without a mark. Alive and breathing. I need you all to be at your best on this. Understood?"

"Of course." Rock said. "Where is this girl being held?"

"Shenhua knows where. You will be working for her for this." Chang said.

"Alright then, let's get going." Rock said.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Locating the hideout wasn't as easy as the group intended. Mostly because it was right in plain view of everything. A small abandoned warehouse on the East Side of the city.

"Well, this is cute." Dutch said.

"How many entrances and exits?" Revy asked.

"Two." Shenhua said. "One in back, one up top. Back window."

"Alright. Taka, you take the upstairs entrance. She might be upstairs. The rest of us will go in the front." Revy said.

"No." Shenhua said.

"What?" the gunfighter asked.

"Shenhua go with Taka." the knife fighter said.

"Fine." she huffed.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The pair went up to the second floor landing and slipped into the window not finding any guards.

"What wrong?" Shenhua asked, noticing Masataka pausing.

"Something's not right." Masataka said.

"What?"

"It's.... too easy."

Suddenly, a group of five men emerged from the shadows and behind boxes.

"Figures." Masataka said.

"Kill them silently. Save the girl for fun later." One of the thugs said with a laugh.

For some reason, saying those words made the anti-weapons specialist angry.

Pulling their knives the henchmen lunged at the pair.

Masataka moved first before Shenhua could pull her kuri knives. Leaping into the air, Masataka kicked two of them down as the other three charged. Deflecting their hands away from him and into their partners, the three men groaned as their knives were sticking out of each others shoulders.

The first two men leapt back up and charged the young man, who quickly retaliated with an old favorite. He quickly leapt into the air, jumping over them. As he was right above them, he grabbed their heads and slammed them into each other.

He landed on the ground as the pair fell unconscious. The other three men growled as they got back up and attempted another rush at the boy. This was again unsuccessful as Masataka moved quickly and threw a roundhouse kick that knocked the trio down and this time unconscious.

Masataka turned around to Shenhua as the woman pulled one of her kuri knives and threw it at him.

Masataka dodged the blade, but followed its path to a sixth man who was hiding behind the crates.

"Thank you." Masataka said.

"Welcome." Shenhua said. "You strong."

"Thanks." he said, looking back at the man with the blade sticking out of his forehead. "You're good."

(Downstairs)

"What is going on up there?" Genjo asked, slamming his clip into his modified Desert Eagles.

"Maybe the boys are training against each other?" one of the men said.

"Or maybe we have..."

(CRASH!)

"...intruders!"

(Upstairs)

"I hope no one heard that." Masataka said as the man fell unconscious yet again from that crippling headblow.

Suddenly, a dozen men raced up the stairs and cornered the pair in front of the window.

"Shenhua think you wrong." Shenhua said.

"Yeah. I think you're right." Masataka said.

"GET THEM!" one of the men shouted.

Quick as lightning, the men charged towards the pair like a stampede. Masataka quickly grabbed Shenhua's wrists and spun her around, hurling her into the air and over the men.

Shenhua quickly picked up his plan as she flew through the air, and pulled her kuri knives from behind her body. The spinning action of the woman caused her knives to slash and strike at the men who passed underneath her. She killed two men before landing on the other side of them.

The men. Still believing they had the advantage, thought little of the loss of two of their numbers, and attacked the pair. Half charged Masataka, the other half charged Shenhua.

Shenhua gripped her knives as she leapt towards them, moving to and fro like a dancer, spinning and dodging their attacks, as she quickly retaliated with her own. Her blades dug deep into their bodies: their necks, their arms, their legs, their chests. To anyone that saw her, they would have been amazed at how skilled she was at cutting people up, while not getting any blood upon herself. It took less than a minute for her to slice the men up like pieces of meat, each one falling around her as if she had planned it that way from the start. The first two fell when she had flown over them, the last four fell one-by-one to her kuri knives. The first was slashed across his neck, the second was impaled in his forehead, the third to a chest strike, and the fourth to a stomach stab.

Masataka clenched his fists as he leapt into the air, striking one in the head with a forceful kick to the man's head, throwing him back. He landed and crouched low to avoid a knife-strike from another man, shooting up to uppercut him hard, and sending him flying into the ceiling. A third man rushed him, trying to stab him, causing him to dodge the blade and elbow the man when he got close enough to him. A strike that dropped the man hard. A fourth man leapt at him from behind, only to have the young man step to the side to avoid the strike, wrapping his arms around the man's neck and twisting it sharply to the left. (The man wasn't dead, but he would be paralyzed for months.) The last two men rushed him from behind, only to have him jump back onto his hands, throwing his feet into the air as they became a flurry of fast, whipping strikes that nailed them in their faces, chests, stomachs and groins, causing them to drop without need of a finishing move.

The pair froze as they looked at the other's handy work. Masataka looked at the dead men Shenhua was responsible for. Shenhua looked at the 'broken' men Masataka was responsible for.

Neither was sure which was worse. Shenhua had killed her attackers, leaving them dead so as to never see another day. Masataka's attackers on the other hand, if they recovered, would never be as they once were. They'd never walk right, eat right, or, if they were further unlucky, make love to a woman again.

Looking at their handiwork, the pair felt a strong desire well up in them. As if the battle itself had aroused them in some way.

However, before they had a chance to find out where this was going to go, a series of heavy shots rang out from downstairs.

"Two-Hands." Shenhua said.

Quickly the pair raced downstairs, coming off the steps to find Revy and a man wearing a black trench coat and shades shooting it out with each other.

"Taka! Look!" Shenhua said as she tapped Masataka on the shoulder, causing him to look over and notice a young girl about 10 or 11 years old, tied to a chair, and being used as a shield by the man who was shooting at Revy. Luckily Revy was missing.

Without thinking, Masataka moved towards the pair, flipping through the air and landing on the back of the chair, straddling it like a pommel horse and swinging his legs around quickly, striking the man in the head, knocking him back towards a group of medium-sized crates. Masataka landed next to the girl, grabbed her chair, lifted it up, and ran back to the stairs where Shenhua was waiting for him.

The leader of the Yakuza group shook the shock out of his head, as he gripped his guns and prepared to retrieve the kidnapped girl, only to see Revy leap over the crates he had been knocked behind, guns blazing.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH  
(Lagoon Couriers Office)

"Ouch!" Revy groaned as Rock applied the antiseptic to her wound.

"Stop moving, Revy. I'm almost done." Rock said as he placed another bandage on her arm.

"You should have just let me drink to numb the wound. This is ridiculous!" the woman snapped.

"So were you!" he said. "Jumping over those crates at an armed man without knowing what was on the other side? You're lucky you only got a few bullet holes for that stunt."

"And at least we got paid for saving that girl." Dutch said. "Up front, and for the job."

"Thanks to Masataka and Shenhua taking out most of the men." Rock said.

"I still can't believe that Mr Chang didn't do this job himself." Revy said.

"What do you mean?" Rock asked, tying off the wound in her side-stomach.

"Well.... he's better than me. And if he trained that guy..." she started to say.

"I'm guessing that's why he didn't go." he said.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"He trained Genjo. I'm guessing he was like a son to Chang. So... maybe..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it. He couldn't kill his own son, so... he asked us to do it." she said. "Hey! Where's Masataka?"

"He's at the Yellow Flag. Bartending." Benny said.

"He works for us." Revy said.

"So? He's got a day-job. Big deal." Benny replied.

"I just hope he stays out of trouble." Rock said.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH  
(Yellow Flag Bar)

"Two Bloody Mary's, One Sex On The Beach, and One Vodka. Straight up." Bao said.

"Two BM's, one SOTB, and one Vodka, straight. Coming up." Masataka said as pulled the bottles from underneath the bar and started pouring the drinks.

Bao smiled as his new bartender, despite not having any previous experience, poured the drinks with little to no spilling.

The evening was going along well. There had been a steady crowd of people, no fights, no shooting, and his new bartender was actually doing a decent job his first night.

However, that didn't last long as a familiar looking woman entered the bar.

_Oh, shit! Shenhua!_ Bao gasped when he recognized the Taiwanese knife-wielder.

To his surprise, she walked over to the bar, sat down and ordered a drink.

Masataka nodded and poured her one.

_Huh. Wonder what that is about?_ Bao asked as he poured another pitcher of beer for another table. _Shenhua normally doesn't come in here, unless there's trouble. _

Just then, trouble walked in the door.

The entire bar, except Masataka, froze when they saw a tall women dressed in a maid's outfit, thin-rimmed glasses, a suitcase in one hand and a parasol in the other, walk into the bar, and take a seat at a table at the back.

"Masataka!" Bao called.

"Yes, sir?" Masataka asked.

"Take Table 9."

"Yes, sir."

It was Table 9, however, that the parasol-wielding maid sat at.

Masataka, feeling as if the woman in the maid's outfit was more dangerous than she seemed, made his way over to it, a pad and pencil in hand.

"Good evening. My name is Masataka. Can I take your order?" Masataka asked.

Roberta looked up at Masataka and raised an eyebrow.

"You must be new here." she said.

"I am." he replied.

"Coffee. Black. Two sugars."

"Nothing else?"

"No."

"Be right back." he said with a small nod.

As he walked away, Roberta wondered why she felt something 'off' about the young waiter. He wasn't afraid of her, which only meant that he didn't know who she was.

Suddenly, the door exploded open and a group of five men entered the bar, knives and guns in their hands, and scanned the bar, looking for someone.

Their eyes trained on Roberta sitting at the back and moved towards her.

However, Masataka was halfway to her table with her coffee when he noticed the men heading to the same table as him.

"May I help you, gentlemen?" Masataka asked.

"Get The Fuck Out Of Our Way, Or We'll Rip Your Intestines Out!" the lead man said.

Masataka stared at the man, but didn't move.

"If you'll take a seat, I'll be with you in a minute."

"Move It, Punk!" the man said, swinging at Masataka, only to have a hand catch his arm casually. "What?"

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Masataka said, holding the man's arm tightly, not even spilling the cup of coffee.

"Get Him!" the man shouted.

The four men behind him sprang from around their leader and at the young anti-weapons specialist. Flipping the cup of coffee over onto the backside of his hand, Masataka moved back and dodged the first strike, ducking low and spinning on his leg, sweeping it on order to knock the man off his feet. Still keeping the coffee cup balanced on his hand, he sprang up and kicked the second man away, using the momentum to dodge the third man who tried to punch with a pair of brass knuckles, and flipped himself into the air, kicking and punching down the last two men, before balancing himself on one leg, the cup in his hand still full of coffee.

Looking around at the unconscious men, Masataka walked back to Table 9 and set the cup down.

"Oh. I'm sorry." he said to the woman.

"About what?" Roberta asked.

"I forgot your sugar. I'll be right back." he said. "After I take out the trash."

Roberta stared in shock as the young man casually walked back to the unconscious group of men and started dragging them out of the bar and into the street.

_Interesting. This one will bare watching._ Roberta thought as she waited for her sugar.

Across the way, Bao breathed a sigh of relief. His new bartender was working out better than he had anticipated.

At the bar, Shenhua just smiled as she watched Masataka take care of the intruders. They had come there to hurt Roberta. She supposed they got off lucky. Masataka had beaten them, but they would live. Roberta would have killed them.

It was around 1:00 in the morning when the bar closed, and Masataka went back to the Lagoon Couriers office.

He paused when he noticed a familiar and sexy woman leaning against the wall next to the door, picking her fingers with a knife.

"Ms Shenhua." he said.

"Taka walk Shenhua home?" she said.

Masataka looked a little confused at that. She was waiting for him, just to walk her home?

Not that he didn't want to talk to her.

"Of course." he said with a smile.

The pair walked back to Shenhua's apartment on the Lower South Side of Roanapur, where most of The Triad gangsters hung out or lived. As they walked the pair talked about nothing in particular and more about recent events such as their working together.

When they reached Shenhua's apartment, the Taiwanese woman opened the door and gestured him inside.

"Taka come in for drink?"

"Uh... I should really get back to the office. We might have another job and..."

"Please?" she asked with a soft smile.

"Uh... okay."

Shenhua smiled as they entered her apartment, closing the door behind them.

She had only known the young martial arts expert for about a day, but she already knew him enough to get him where she wanted him.

He was strong, but a little naive about things. Such as killing people.

He would break a persons bones in a fight, but he would avoid killing them if necessary.

He was a good, kind and considerate person.

As such, she had to do this slowly so as not to scare him off.

_A few drinks, some casual conversation, and then..._ she thought with a smile as she went to prepare their drinks.

The pair sat in Shenhua's somewhat lavish living room, which she could afford because Mr Chang paid her well for success, just drinking and talking.

It was about 2:40 in the morning, after several drinks and a nice relaxing atmosphere, that Shenhua made her move on the young man.

They had been sitting on her couch, somewhat close to each other as they talked. When she saw his half-plastered, half-sleepy expression, she knew it was time. Discarding her drinking glass on the small table in front of her, she moved in and pressed her lips to his.

His expression and thoughts, half-clouded by the alcohol he had slowly imbibed, turned from ones of shock to ones of lust and desire as he wrapped his arms around the sexy woman.

Shenhua found herself in his lap, her jacket having been long discarded, as her red dress rode up her legs as they formed on both sides of him. His hands gripped her hips as her arms wrapped around his neck, holding him tightly as they continued to make out.

A couple minutes of this, and Shenhua pulled back, smiling widely at the young fighter.

"Come." she said, getting off his lap and taking his hands with her own.

Leading him away from the living room and back to her bedroom, the pair quickly got undressed as she pushed him down onto the silk sheets of her bed.

Masataka gazed in awestruck admiration as the sexy curves and ample chest the woman standing before him had.

Shenhua licked her lips sensuously while staring at his lean and athletic body spread out on the bed before her.

Both of them were breathing deeply, just staring at each other, as if waiting for the other to make the first move.

It was as much a shock to Masataka as anyone, when he leaned forward, wrapped his arms around Shenhua's slim waist, and pulled her down on top of him.

His fully aroused member slid across her stomach for a second, before finding the entrance of her already wet womanhood. Piercing her body in one deft move, Masataka gasped aloud as his virginity was taken.

Shenhua smiled as she stared down at his soft brown eyes.

"Taka belong to Shenhua now. Shenhua keep Taka. Ever and ever." the incredibly sexy woman said in her usual Chinglish.

He was about to say something, when he found his mouth invaded by a wet pink tongue that stabbed at his mouth, wrestling with his own.

All thought was lost as instinct and lust took over. He returned the kiss and wrapped his arms around her in a fury. His hips started to move on their own, his hands feeling her amazingly soft skin, all the way down to her shapely buttocks, causing her to moan out passionately as he gripped her rear end.

He didn't remember how long they made love in the large, soft bed.

All he did remember was flesh moving against flesh, his adrenaline spiking, his body feeling like it was electrified, arms and legs wrapped tightly around each other, almost clingingly so, a furious whipping of greenish hair, and a forceful climax before everything went black.

(**END FLASHBACK**)

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Masataka was sitting up now with Shenhua curled up against him. She was leaning on his body like it was a big, soft pillow.

"Shenhua." he said.

"Yes, Taka?" she replied.

"Last night, when we... I mean... we are...." he said, trying to find the words.

"Yes?"

"Does this mean, you're my girlfriend now?"

"Taka is Shenhua lover. Yes."

He smiled simply as she said that. He wasn't against the idea, he was just a little surprised at how fast things had happened.

Back at Toudou he never had a girlfriend. Never even dated. And now he had a sexy and passionate woman as his lover/girlfriend, or whatever you wanted to call it.

To him, there was only one response: loyalty.

He would be loyal to his new girlfriend. He would defend her, help her, and love her as best he could. Shenhua had seemed rather adamant about keeping him for herself. So in his mind it was only right that he do the same thing.

But his thoughts were interrupted when the phone next to Shenhua's bed rang out.

Shenhua grumbled as she leaned over and answered it.

"Shenhua." she said. "Yes. He here." she replied, then handed the phone over to Masataka.

"Hello?"

(_Taka! Thank god you're alright. I've been calling everywhere trying to find you_.)

"Rock? I'm find. Really."

(_When you didn't come back to the office, I got worried_.)

"Sorry. I, uh....got a little side-tracked."

(_Taka_?)

"Yeah, Rock?"

(_Are you... where I think you are?)_

"Where do you think I am?"

(_Shenhua's bed_.)

"Yes."

(_Are you two_...)

"Yes."

(_Oh. I'm not sure if I should congratulate you or not, considering the kind of woman she is, but.... I guess congratulations are in order then_.) Rock said.

"Thanks, cousin."

(_However, we have a job this afternoon, so... if you could be here at noon that would be great_.)

"I'll be there. Bye." he said, handing the phone back to Shenhua, who placed it upon the receiver.

"Rock worry?" she asked.

"Yeah. But he said congratulations, so... I guess everything's alright." he said, right before he added, "And he's got another job this afternoon, so..."

"Shenhua understand. Taka be back tonight?"

"Be back?" he asked. "You mean you... want me to..."

Shenhua just looked at him, waiting for him to finish.

"Move in with you?"

"Yes." she said simply. "Shenhua not take 'no' for answer."

"Somehow... I didn't think you would." he said, kissing her lips softly as their make-out session started the day for them.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH  
(Lagoon Couriers office)

"So... you and Miss Saigon, huh?" Revy asked as she finished polishing her guns.

"Yeah. I was kinda shocked myself." Masataka said as he sat down on the office couch.

"I've gotta say, you work pretty fast." Benny said.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... less than a week in Roanapur, and you've already got two jobs and a girlfriend." the computer geek said.

"Along with a lot of fighting and people dying." Masataka replied.

"Yeah. That's kinda the norm around here." Dutch said as he walked into the room. "You'll get used to it. Or you'll go crackers."

"Rock?" Revy said.

"I'm ready to go." the salary man said.

"Alright, then. Let's go." Dutch said.

Masataka just grinned as he got up off the couch and followed the group out to the Black Lagoon.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH  
(Office of Mr Chang, Floating Lotus)

"Are you sure about this, Shenhua?" the Chinese Triad leader asked in Taiwanese.

"Yes. He will be a strong ally." Shenhua replied in Taiwanese. "He is loyal to his cousin, but he will be loyal to me as well."

"He does seem a little... naive about all this."

"That will change. I'll make sure of it." she said, nodding to the man and walking out of his office.

Mr Change leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.

_You can't fool me, Shenhua._ Mr Chang thought. _You actually like this guy. You don't want him to change. He must have made quite an impression on you for you to change like this. I look forward to see just how powerful you really are, young man. _

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Authors Notes:

Not much to say about this chapter, except 'Sorry that it took so long'. It wasn't until recently that I have been able, (and by able I mean not procrastinating and just plowing through my writers block) to finish it.

As you can no doubt tell, the rating has changed. That is because of the increase in violence, language, and sex that I have added to the story. It wasn't intended. It just sort of developed that way after, well, considering where the story was taking place.

I've added Roberta to the story, because it will have bearing in the next chapter. I'm working on the story idea now. I've also played up Shenhua as being more feminine and lonely in an attempt to get her and Masataka together.

And as always, please leave me a review.


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